And just like that 12 weeks of MOLO have come to an end! First I was feeling sad that it is all over and then, I start to freak out! Now what am I going to do that the daily fitness and nutrition challenges are over? I tell myself, “don’t freak out”, “don’t freak out”! Why shouldn’t I? Well, let me tell you why…because….

WE can do anything!

These past 12 weeks have proved to me and my fellow moms that we are a force to be reckoned with! The women all around me have lost inches and pounds! They have stopped drinking sodas, or at least have drastically reduced the amount they consume! They have taken new challenges upon themselves, aside from MOLO, such as adding a running route before or after their normal Baby Boot Camp class. These women have started eating things such as (gasp!) quinoa and kale! And they love it!

For some, working out has now become a routine, a normal and healthy part of their lives. One mom increased her workouts from 2 to 4 times per week. Another mom HATED exercise and now not only loves it, but her young sons are planking like the best of them! Other moms could barely do a push up on their toes…now they are knocking them out effortlessly!

During the MOLO Challenge, several moms trained for and completed their first half marathon race! Their dedication inspired other MOLO moms to register for their first 5K training and they will start running in just over a week. It’s this sense of community and support from one mom to another that builds healthy families and happy, strong, confident women…in whatever stage of motherhood they may be in.

The best part about it is that all of these changes have transcended beyond the moms and have reached their husbands and even other family members. We know have dads that would not get off the couch going out for walks and eventually jogs with their wives and kids! What an amazing example that is for our children! I love that so many dads are following in their wives’ footsteps and are embracing exercise and healthy eating! It really is incredible to see how 12 short weeks have impacted to so many lives.

So I’m not going to be sad and I’m not going to freak out because MOLO has given me the tools and mindset to accomplish anything! Until MOLO 2014! In the meantime, I am ready to take on the next challenge, whatever that may be….I’m thinking triathlon maybe…how about you?

Maria Gorosito is the owner of Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness in Katy, TX. She is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. When not training for marathons or 5K’s in the dark, she’s busy raising three energetic little boys! Her favorite exercise move for all of her Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness clients is by far the fantastic and super-efficient burpee!

I am so excited to now be entering the third month of the 2013 Mother Love Fitness Challenge! I am feeling strong, yet light; empowered, yet patient; creative and full of worth! These are all changes that I am planning on solidifying this last month of MOLO. So far, so good! Here’s an update on my progress!

Positive Progress- During the challenge, we will be doing assessments 4 times. It’s amazing and inspiring to see where I started and where I am today! My fellow moms are putting up some amazing numbers in their cardio, strength and core exercise functional fitness tests. This weekend, many of my fellow MOLO moms ran their first half marathon! While not my first half, I was looking forward to running with them and crossing that finish line. Unfortunately, I got very sick Friday evening and had to watch from the sidelines…total boo. Watching these ladies tackle their first13.1 miles during the MOLO Challenge was nothing short of greatness! There’s already talk of which race we will be doing next, when and where... the excitement is palpable! This is the type of positive progress I am so proud to be a part of! It really makes me feel like I am a part of something BIG.

Empowerment – And so having lived through the aforementioned sidelined experience this past weekend, I have realized that the MOLO Challenge has given me a sense of empowerment! I am responsible for making good choices with regards to the foods I eat, how much exercise I get and ultimately, my health! Whereas before MOLO I may have doubted myself on whether to run or not, I am comfortable knowing I made the right decision. I am listening to my body, even if it means shedding a tear or two! Before MOLO, I could hear my body, but I wasn’t really listening! Now I pay attention and take action!

That’s me on the sidelines cheering on my MOLO and Half Marathon teammates!

We all know that clean eating and exercise creates changes on the outside. Our jeans feel better, our shirts get cuter and we walk taller! But now that we are in the third and final month of MOLO, how has this challenge changed the inner YOU?

Maria Gorosito is the owner of Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness in Katy, TX. She is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. When not training for marathons or 5K’s in the dark, she’s busy raising three energetic little boys! Her favorite exercise move for all of her Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness clients is by far the fantastic and super-efficient burpee!

I think that the excitement of starting our 2nd month of MOLO and a little bit of over confidence derailed me for a week. With three kids and everyone’s busy schedule, it was just so easy to fall back on takeout meals and pizza. And I’ll admit it…on one fateful Saturday; I ate A LOT of pizza. There I said it!

With a little tough love from our instructors, I have started to make positive changes towards healthier eating. I am finding that exercising is not as challenging as making nutritious food choices.

Here’s my get back on track list for this week!

Tough Love – Our instructor is always reminding us to “not reward ourselves with food”! Working out doesn’t give you a green light to go crazy with your fridge. Through the MOLO challenge, I am learning to feed my body for nutrition and optimal health benefits. I am asking myself questions like, “What can pizza do for me”? I am putting a lot more care and thought into the foods I consume. If the answer to my question is not a positive one, it gets the tough love boot.

After a month of making very good food choices, I did notice a significant difference in my energy levels and skin during that one week of poor eating. And here’s one more unflattering observation: bloating. It is incredible to see how your body disagrees with processed, high fat foods. It seems as if your body goes on a digestive strike!

On my road to nutrition recovery, I even went completely meatless one day! It happened somewhat unintentionally but once I realized my breakfast and lunch were meatless, I decided to go for it! I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but I found it to be quite simple! I was able to get my protein from non-meat sources such as eggs and beans.

Shop the perimeter- Have you ever really paid attention to the layout of your local grocery store? Have you noticed how all of the fresh, colorful whole foods are located at the outer edges of the store? This week I am focusing on all of the different varieties of fruits and vegetables available at our local, organic grocery store. Take the time to look at all of the beautiful shapes, smells and colors. It really does tempt you to try new foods when you pay attention to the beauty of it! Also, take the kids with you! Yesterday, I took my 21 month old with me and we talked about all of the different colors and fruits we were buying. Involving kids in the shopping process is educational on many different levels and it might just get them to try new foods too!

Smoothies- This is my secret weapon! I am becoming a smoothie junkie! I love adding a handful of spinach in order to get that extra iron in my diet and I don’t even taste it! Also, I used to use Almond Milk to make my smoothies. Now I use ZICO Coconut Water and I am loving the hydration effect! I am finding that the combination of fruits and coconut water really ramps up my energy levels!

Honestly, I used smoothies to help get me back on track. Knowing that I was drinking only good stuff made me feel very proud and accomplished. It also pushed me to continue to challenge myself by developing new recipes. I’ve talked to you before about smoothies but after this week, I know that one of the lifelong changes MOLO has given me is the love for smoothies.

On today’s smoothie agenda:

Blueberries, bananas, and spinach…

Helloooo anti-oxidants and clear skin! I also love my handy single serve blender. So quick and easy!

So tell me MOLO Moms, how do you get yourself back on the road to healthy eating when you have found yourself off track? What is your motivation? I’d love to hear it!

Maria Gorosito is the owner of Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness in Katy, TX. She is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. When not training for marathons or 5K’s in the dark, she’s busy raising three energetic little boys! Her favorite exercise move for all of her Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness clients is by far the fantastic and super-efficient burpee!

Often times, motherhood signifies the end of our old life and the beginning of baggy sweatpants, t-shirts and messy hair. The MOLO Challenge has shown me that I matter, I am important and I must take care of myself! This 3 month challenge, along with my fellow Baby Boot Campers, has encouraged me to make goals and have aspirations that go beyond sippy cups and goldfish. In class, it has been said many times that if mom doesn’t take care of herself first, she will not be able to take care of others. This is so true! Here are a few of my goals:

Quick, Healthy Eating - One of my goals is to add healthy, nutritious foods to my diet every day. I am focusing on adding colorful vegetables such as kale, spinach and red bell peppers to my diet. These colorful foods are incredibly rich in nutrients! I’m also embracing different fruits! This week, inspired by one of my fellow MOLO moms, I bought a whole papaya. Rich in Vitamin C and Vitamin A, this is a great low calorie and delicious addition to my diet! Check out this new smoothie recipe I made up this week with my new fruit friend:

Another goal I’ve set for myself is to consistently prepare for our weekly meals on Sunday. This would save so much time each evening in the kitchen as well as ensure that my family and I are eating wholesome foods.

Running Bug- Lately it seems I’ve gotten bit by the running bug! Several of the moms at Baby Boot Camp have run full and half marathons, along with 5 and 10k races. I think MOLO is just the thing to motivate us to challenge ourselves with something that seems so out of reach. We just started Cardio Week and it is just the push I need! I’m starting to really enjoy lacing up my running shoes! Moms just like me have taken on these great challenges and I aspire to cross that finish line one day as well!

Strength Training- This challenge is definitely improving my physical strength. I can now hold my planks longer. I can do more pushups now than before I had children! I could barely bend my elbows to do a triceps dip just a short time ago. I’m feeling so much stronger than ever before! More importantly, I feel stronger mentally. All of this physical toughness has also transformed my state of being. Taking care of “me” first, enables me to handle the everyday challenges that come with motherhood. I feel like I can handle any unexpected challenge with ease.

We are almost at the end of the 1st month of MOLO and I never imagined what a unique and transformative experience this would be! I’m truly ready for more!

Maria Gorosito is the owner of Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness in Katy, TX. She is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. When not training for marathons or 5K’s in the dark, she’s busy raising three energetic little boys! Her favorite exercise move for all of her Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness clients is by far the fantastic and super-efficient burpee!

Baby Boot Camp’s 2013 Mother Love Fitness Challenge is in full swing and I am pumped! In the next 3 months, my mission is to prove to myself that motherhood can help to make me strong, fit, agile and the healthiest I have ever been. I owe it to myself and to my family. The best part of being a MOLO mom is that I can reach these goals alongside a motivated and inspiring group of women! Here’s what I have learned in just one short week about MOLO moms:

Physical and Mental Toughness-Just when I thought I couldn’t go any further “10 more burpees” she yells out! And in the midst of a few grumbles, my fellow MOLO moms and I get 10 more burpees in!

Did we think we could do it, No.

Tough, yes.

Did we get them done, ABSOLUTELY!

Did it feel great, YOU BET!

The MOLO Challenge is testing me physically and mentally. This week our instructor had us do a functional fitness test that included 2 minutes of high knees, a 4 minute burpee, triceps dip, toe taps and one leg squat drill, as well as a 1 minute pushup and plank test. It truly was one of the most difficult 8-10 minutes that I have encountered recently! My fellow MOLO moms and I dug deep, took a big breath and did it! This really gives me something to look forward to 4 weeks from now. It makes me want to work even harder in order to see improvement at the next assessment.

Planks-Have you ever done a plank? Thanks to the MOLO Challenge, I have done them this week in every direction and plane imaginable! I can just feel my core muscles getting stronger and with bathing suit season just around the core, planks are bringing a happy smile to my face!

We decided to take our planking a little bit further this week with a plank tower! Yes, you read correctly, a plank tower! Three strong moms took to planking one over the other and I was one of them! While at first it seemed scary, it became clear that all of our hard work at Baby Boot Camp was paying off. With the help and encouragement of our instructor and other moms, we were carefully able to pull off these amazing plank towers!

Camaraderie-After having three babies, I’ve realized that sticking to a fitness routine and eating healthy is not an easy feat. You can quickly derail your goals by snacking on things such as Goldfish or finishing your 2 year olds Mac and Cheese. The MOLO Challenge is a group effort and the camaraderie that we have built motivates me to stay focused. Knowing that my fellow moms are counting on me, cheering me on and are also facing similar challenges, pushes me to adhere to my fitness and nutrition goals. Hearing them say, “You can do it!” or “Amazing job!” is incredibly rewarding! On the days that I may not feel like going to class, I think of the mom that attends regularly with three kiddos in tow and it reminds me that if she can do it, I can too! I can also take a quick look at my food journal and decide whether that cookie is really worth it or not.

As the MOLO Challenge progresses, I am excited to see what more I can do with my nutrition and exercise habits. In just one short week, I have already surprised myself at all that my body can accomplish! Bring it on MOLO Challenge, bring it on!

Maria Gorosito is the owner of Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness in Katy, TX. She is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. When not training for marathons or 5K’s in the dark, she’s busy raising three energetic little boys! Her favorite exercise move for all of her Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness clients is by far the fantastic and super-efficient burpee!

Maria Gorosito is the owner of Baby Boot Camp and Karna Fitness in Katy, TX. She is an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor. When not training for marathons or 5K’s in the dark, she’s busy raising three energetic little boys! Her favorite exercise move for all of her Baby Boot Camp stroller fitness clients is by far the fantastic and super-efficient burpee!